Wrong day not to be on greens

THE Albury and District Bowling Association’s champion of champion pairs were won on Saturday by North Albury’s Alan “Salty” Ross and Stephen Broad.

They defeated the Lavington Panthers combination of George Chomatek and Stan Gerecke on their own green.

But there has been considerable discussion about the district’s handling of the event.

Two teams due to play in the semi-finals on Saturday morning did not turn up, believing the event was on Sunday.

Commercial Club’s Bernie Mahlo and Peter Smith were scheduled to meet Chomatek and Gerecke in one semi- final with Culcairn’s Daryl Lawson and Terry Hensel in the other semi-final against Ross and Broad.

When the two teams did not arrive, board member Eric Cossor contacted them by phone.

Mahlo and Smith were playing golf and sought to have their game deferred until the afternoon.

Hensel was busy doing something else and was unable to make it.

In accordance with the rules for such events, once a certain amount of time had expired the semi-finals were abandoned and the two teams present advanced straight to the final.

The problem stemmed from the semi-finals and final scheduled for three weeks prior being washed out and deferred.

Match committee member Clarrie Klepiak sent an email to the North Albury, Culcairn and Commercial Club secretaries on June 3.

It stipulated the games were rescheduled for last Saturday, with the venue still being Lavington unless otherwise advised.

It is understood Commercial Club secretary Graeme Maddox put the notification on the board at his club.

Culcairn secretary Bruce Beard said he had received the email and the players were advised.

But he said it was a two-day event and his club was unaware if the games originally scheduled for the Saturday some weeks prior had been played.

He said if they had been played, he anticipated a revised draw would have been sent out.

Beard said “a combination of factors” led to the confusion and subsequent failure of his club’s representatives to attend.

Mahlo said both himself and Smith were prepared to play in the afternoon.

“They just scrubbed us. They could have put it back for half a day,” he said.

“That’s what we are not happy about because it is a major championship.”

When the two teams failed to attend, Klepiak canvassed the possibility of deferring the event, but the North Albury team was unable to play on Sunday.

Both the North Albury and Lavington teams had commitments this weekend.

Ross made it a double by winning the pairs, having earlier been successful in the champion of champion singles.

It was a close game against Chomatek and Gerecke with the score 8-7 in favour of the North Albury combination after 11 ends.